CD Baby without CDs?

by CD Baby |

CD Baby will soon end our physical distribution program.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: On June 22, CD Baby will stop distributing CDs & vinyl in order to focus on the continuing development of digital music distribution & promotion tools.  

If you currently sell discs through us, look for an email soon with details pertinent to your merch. 

Why is physical distribution ending?

Back in 1998, CD Baby revolutionized the industry by providing the first artist-friendly ecommerce & distribution service for independent musicians. It was still the age of physical media; the iTunes Store hadn’t even launched yet. 

25 years later, it’s a digital-first (and sometimes digital-only) world. 

Fewer and fewer artists are making CDs. Fewer and fewer fans are buying them. All the while, warehouse space ain’t cheap. So we’ve decided to put those resources towards things that DO make a difference for the majority of our clients.

The way artists reach, engage, and monetize a fanbase in 2023 is very different than even a few years ago. We need to focus exclusively on solving the problems that working musicians face today and tomorrow, and we’ll have some announcements coming soon about new tools and features. 

Does CD Baby still manufacture CDs?

Yes.

It’s true that consumers are buying fewer CDs en masse. But it’s also true — for artists who tour or have loyal online audiences — that CDs are still one of the best low-cost / high-margin merch items. Especially when it comes with your autograph, transforming a cold piece of music media into a memento, something that commemorates the connection you share with that listener.

So if you need discs, we’d love to help you create them through our short-run disc manufacturing service. We just won’t warehouse and ship CDs or vinyl to your customers anymore.

Are there other outlets to sell physical merch?

Yes, you have a lot of options, including:

What will happen to the physical media warehoused at CD Baby?

If you’ve been selling CDs or vinyl through CD Baby for a while, you’re probably familiar with our restock and return procedures. And this closure will work the same way: If you want your discs returned, you just cover the shipping cost and we’ll send them back to you. If you want the discs recycled, we’ll take care of it.

All artists with physical products in stock will be sent an email with instructions on how to have their products returned to them or recycled. After that notification is sent, you have 60 days to let us know if you’d like existing inventory returned to you (you pay shipping fees) or recycled free of charge. 

If you recently signed up a new album for physical distribution (during 2023), we’ll ship your discs back at no cost.

Will you help me move my physical distribution to another service or platform?

Marketplace listings will stay up for titles released by CD Baby artists. However, CD Baby will no longer be listed as a seller. If another distributor has stock or wants to distribute a title through that Amazon Marketplace listing they can, but CD Baby does not help artists coordinate this shift. This will also be seen on most other major platforms currently offering physical distribution via CD Baby.

What about the name “CD” Baby?

Yeah, we know, we know. ; )

For more information about the closure of our physical distribution and warehouse, visit our Help Center.